Loveland pays $50,000 to woman cited for playing Frisbee topless

A recent Tenth Circuit of Appeals court decision ruled that it is legal for women to appear topless anywhere a man legally can.

Credit: Getty Images/iStockphoto

Author: Caitlin Hendee

Published: 5:46 PM MST November 7, 2019

Updated: 5:46 PM MST November 7, 2019

LOVELAND, Colo. — The City of Loveland will pay a woman who was issued a summons for playing Frisbee topless a $50,000 settlement, according to a final settlement agreement signed Thursday.

Effie Krokos, 20, was charged with indecent exposure after neighbors called the police when she removed her shirt after her husband did the same in their front yard on a warm autumn afternoon.

Krokos' attorney, David Lane of Killmer of Lane & Newman LLP, cited a Tenth Circuit of Appeals case, Free the Nipple v. City of Ft. Collins, from February in which the court ruled that anywhere it is legal for a man to appear topless, it is legal for a woman to do the same.

In that case, Lane said the court made the decision based on the equal protection clause of the constitution and held that any statute containing the words, "women are prohibited from..." is almost always per se, unconstitutional.

Krokos said she informed the responding officer about the case, but he said it was "merely a rumor out of Fort Collins and doesn't apply to Loveland," and issued her the ticket, according to Lane.

All charges against Krokos were subsequently dropped.

The City of Loveland said they agreed to the settlement to "forestall lengthy and expensive litigation."

"Although the officer issued the summons following proper protocols and in accordance with our local law, the City, upon the advice of its insurance carrier, the Colorado Intergovernmental Risk Sharing Agency, extended the settlement offer to the woman," a statement from the city reads.

The city also said they have suspended enforcement of their indecent exposure ordinance and will review it for possible amendment.